I decided to fix my teeth as
a 50th birthday present to myself. As with most of us, it
was something I've wanted for years but kept
procrastinating. I had bad experiences as a child with our
family dentist (he didn't believe in Novocain when he filled
baby teeth and I can still feel that puff of air today on my
exposed nerve when he blew out the debris after drilling).

Since I was considered
borderline for braces by that same dentist, I was two of eight
children who my parents decided wouldn't get orthodontic
treatment. My lower teeth especially were severely overcrowded
and as I got older, I began to see a space between my two upper
teeth. I had been going to my dentist every 3 months for a deep
cleaning and have been told me for years that I needed gum
surgery to correct my deep pockets. I had a hard enough time
going to the dentist for cleaning so I knew I would never get up
the courage for gum surgery. Everyone I know who had it,
including my husband, had it done in 4 visits and needed lots of
shots of Novocain (I also had a bad experience once when the
needle went right into my nerve). I figured the only way I'd
have it done was to be put to sleep and have it done all at
once.

I could not find a periodontist
who did this however (ok, I only tried one). Then, one day a
tooth broke under one of my crowns. My dentist sent me to an
oral surgeon for extraction. When the oral surgeon walked in the
room and smiled at me I noticed he had braces. And he was close
to my age! I told him I wanted them but explained about my deep
pockets issue and my desire to be put to sleep and have it done
all at once. He took a look and told me he could do it for me.
That was all I needed to hear. Long story short, the gum surgery
was successful. Recovery from it was a breeze. My dentist saw a
big improvement in the pocket measurements.

I interviewed 3 orthodontists,
including the one who worked on my oral surgeon. One definitely
stood out among the others however it took me another year to
make the commitment to get braces. I probably still wouldn't
have them if it were not for the reminder notes the office would
send out. They included a reply letter with several checkboxes
asking if I still wanted them to maintain my records, etc. I
kept returning them back saying yes and selecting the checkbox
that said I would call for an appointment.

Finally I just had it one day
and was feeling bold and I added my own checkbox and said they
would need to call me because I was too chicken to ever call and
schedule an appointment and I gave them my phone number and told
them the best time to call. So they called me and set up the
appointment and here I am - I got my braces yesterday and I am
51 years old and the grandmother of 3.

My husband said I look cute but
I know better. What I can say is I am very proud of myself for
this accomplishment. Already today the first person I showed my
braces to at work told me he always wanted them himself. I
imagine I'll run into a lot of people like this over the next
15-18 months. The best argument I can find for getting braces is
I know if I didn't get them I would always look back and regret
it. Now I won't have to live with this regret. Good luck!